Recycling & Waste Management
Armstrong’s recycling schemes go through the ceiling
Ceiling recycling pioneer Armstrong is celebrating smashing its green target for 2014.
T
he service, which is free of charge for contractors, notched up some 117,000m2
or 465 tonnes of
old End Of Life (EOL) or new off-cut (OCR) mineral ceiling tiles last year, smashing its target of 100,000m2
.
All of the returned material, including from the first projects in Ireland, has been or will be used in the manufacture of new mineral ceiling tiles, saving the company more than £35,000 in virgin materials. The service will have also saved contractors tens of thousands of pounds in landfill taxes. The project which delivered the greatest return in 2014 was the Farnborough International Airshow (13,400m2
) which Armstrong has
been involved in with its EOL service since 2008 although 2014 was the first time the show had used the company’s OCR service.
Its EOL service was also brought into play at refurbishments for TSB in Bradley Stoke, a Science Park in Cambridge and Green Park, Reading as well as complete strip-outs for General Dynamics in Newbridge, Primark’s head office in Dublin, Franklin House in Birmingham and Plas Glyndwr in Cardiff. The OCR service featured at Glasgow Southern General Hospital and both EOL and OCR
Pictured from left: John Spicer (technical sales manager), Edwin de Wolf (CEO, Armstrong Building Products EMEA), Chris Wells (senior product manager), Jeremy Sumeray (senior segment manager – sustainability), Roy Smith (recycling sales development manager) and Graham Taylor (sales director).
featured at Blackpool Fylde College. Most of the projects (49%) used Armstrong’s EOL service for refurbishment applications, with some 27% using the EOL service on complete strip-out or demolition projects where the building was going through a change of use – typically office blocks into apartments where the requirement for suspended ceilings was less. Some 24% of the projects were for the OCR service on new installations. Main contractors who embraced the recycling services included Carillion, Wates, Wilmott Dixon, Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe, Overbury, Costain and Bowmer & Kirkland. Armstrong’s recycling sales development manager Roy Smith said: “Exceeding our 2014 target to
A
Irish septic tank failures act as warning to UK
UK waste company is warning septic tank owners that environmental protection bodies are clamping down on systems that are not maintained.
Recent figures from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have revealed that out of nearly 1000 inspections, more than half failed to meet minimum standards. Serious Waste Management, who operate from five depots in England and Scotland believe that the main problem is a lack of desludging which leads to system failure.
David Bould, Operations Manager, Building & Facilities Management – March 2015
said: “Nearly 500 septic tank owners in Ireland have found themselves with a hefty fine to pay. They could have saved themselves the money just by having their systems regularly serviced and de-sludged. It is a worrying factor that so many people have no idea how to keep their systems in good condition… it’s bad for their wallets and for the environment.”
This is the first time that data has been compiled in Ireland about the condition of domestic water treatment systems and there has already been a crack down in recent months by Severn Trent Water Authority to try to improve
the environmental impact of off-mains systems. Other authorities are also taking measures to cut down pollution. Serious Waste Management specialise in designing, maintaining, servicing and emptying systems that are off mains drainage.
www.weareserious.co.uk
recycling & waste management 41
this degree is a fantastic result which has been helped by the sales team’s drive to the customer base and the fact that the concept is becoming more readily embraced by all customer sectors, be they main contractors, sub-contractors or specifiers.” Armstrong pioneered ceiling recycling with its EOL service in the UK in 2003 but it is not just this service which places the company at the forefront of the green movement. In 2013, the 10th anniversary of its recycling services, Armstrong also became the world’s first manufacturer of mineral ceiling tiles to win Cradle to Cradle status. And it reinforced this last year by winning the same status for a complete range of mineral ceiling tiles – the Ultima+ range.
www.armstrong.co.uk
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